2024 college graduates already land 3.76 million jobs

Students use artificial intelligent facilities to seek employment at a job fair at the Chongqing Technology and Business University in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, on April 9, 2024. Photo: VCG

 
China created a total of 3.76 million jobs for newly graduated college students as of Saturday in 2024, thanks to the government’s intensified efforts to expand job opportunities for them, according to media reports. 

Chinese experts highlighted China’s robust economic development in the first five months of 2024 as well as the government’s firm policy support as major favorable factors for stabilizing the employment of fresh college graduates. 

The 3.76 million jobs for college graduates also indicates that China’s business activity has continued to gain momentum, which creates new job opportunities, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told Global Times on Sunday. 

Dong said that China’s manufacturing sector and high-tech industry such as new-energy vehicle making are currently experiencing robust growth, which requires a significant influx of new talent, offering more potential for fresh college graduates. 

And, responsible departments can facilitate precise matchmaking between employers and graduates which will also promote their employment, Dong noted.

Li Chang’an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday that local governments’ financial support is also indispensable in helping college graduates to land jobs, such as providing accurate job information to them. 

On Friday, China’s Ministry of Education said that it will continue to offer strong policy support to promote employment for college graduates, including the early alignment of graduates with potential job positions.
 
In 2023, the number of employed people in China reached 740.41 million, official data showed. The year saw 12.44 million newly created jobs, 0.38 million more than the previous year.

In 2024, China aims to create more than 12 million jobs in urban areas and to keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in late April that 3.03 million new jobs were created in the first quarter.